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Astral Dragons
The Astral Dragons is a Loyalist Space Marine Chapter of the Emperor's Adeptus Astartes whose roots date back to the dark days of the Horus Heresy. Extant records indicate this Chapter was likely created during the 3rd Founding in 001.M32. However, due to the ravages of time, any record that can confidently place their founding year have been lost. Officially, they are recognized as being created from the lineage of the proud and heroic Ultramarines. However, the truth of their actual heritage is a closely guarded secret, one known only to the senior members of the Chapter. Grim of temperament and chivalrous to their core, they have time and time again proven themselves to be utterly dedicated to the protection of the peoples of the Imperium. History Prehistory and Founding Official Story The history of the Astral Dragons, at least according to official sources, can be traced to an Ultramarines Legion Praetor named Alexander Aurelius. During the Siege of Terra, he and the men under his command bravely fended off nigh endless assaults by traitor forces and even managed to launch multiple excursions into traitor held territory to held rescued trapped Imperial forces and civilians. How an Ultramarines strike force managed to get to the Siege of Terra is explained as either pure luck or the Will of the God-Emperor. When Lord Guilliman divided up his Legion, recognizing the Praetor's deeds, granted this brave warrior exclusive rights to rule over his birth-world of Avalon as his newly incepted chapter's homeworld. The Primarch also tasked them to stand sentinel over those remaining worlds of the surrounding system, which would become a part of the Chapter's demesne. However, it must be noted that this is what is assumed to have occurred. In truth, most of the chapter's early history has been lost to the ravages of time. The chapter's founding cannot, at this time, be confidently discerned to be the Third Founding, though this is approximately the period that more reliable Imperial records have shown this chapter's activity. The Story according to the Oldest Chapter Records However, while most of the official story was true, as with every good lie, there is a kernel of truth to it. Alexander was never truly a part of the XIII Legion. Truthfully, he was a Praetor of the traitorous Emperor's Children Legion. Soon after the pacification of the serpentine xenos, known as the Laer, Alexander began to notice the subtle changes in the behavior of his Primarch and began observing more closely for any other changes. After surveillance of his Primarch and consulting with Lord Commander Vespasian, their suspicions grew more dire. What had saved Alexander and his loyalist fleet from the Isstvan III Atrocity and brought him to the frontlines of the Siege of Terra could only be described as the Emperor's will. Issues during Warp transit due to the rising of the massive disturbances caused by the Ruinstorm caused his vessel to prematurely come out of warp shortly before the Traitor forces were done slaughtering the loyalists. As fate would have it, he managed to receive a signal from a loyalist Death Guard unit, who warned him about the treachery of Horus. Upon arriving too late to the second massacre, Alexander and his loyalist fleet made haste to travel to Terra to help defend for for the inevitable siege. After the war was won, the small remaining group of marines left Terra. For an unknown period of time, they fought isolated xenos threats against the weakened Imperial worlds. Until Lord Guilliman had discovered the now black clad Astartes during a campaign against a dangerous Ork tribe in the Ultima Segmentum. Recognizing Alexander as a son of the traitorous Fulgrim and from the reports he had read regarding the Siege of Terra, he offered the praetor a chance to continuing performing his duty, without fear of being mistaken as their traitorous kin. Alexander readily accepted the offer and he was allowed to maintain his homeworld of Avalon as the homeworld of the nascent chapter. Post-Heresy to M41 During this period, the chapter maintained the original character of the III Legion. However, a somberness and grim deposition had quickly seized the chapter and later generations of the chapter would only know the official story of their history, out of a desire to keep the chapter from falling into despair from the knowledge of who their brothers are. During the War of The Beast, the Avalon system was spared from the Beast's WAAAGH!. As such, records show that the chapter deployed most of its strength to help defend Ultramar, alongside the other scions of Guilliman. By the end of the war, the chapter was reduced to half strength from the relentless Ork onslaught The Age of Apostasy The rise of the power of the Adeptus Ministorum in the 33rd and 34th millennia brought a relatively slow change in the chapter. The chapter became a bastion of religious worship, often promoting such activities within their demesne. Though, this angered many of the elders within the chapter, as they saw this as a violation of the Emperor's will. But, these men would slowly grow fewer in number until, shortly before the dawn of the 36th millennia, the entire chapter became a part of the Imperial cult, thus they ignored the forces of the Ecclesiarchy during this period. However, when Goge Vandire, the mad Ecclesiarch, began his reign of blood over the Imperium, they could no longer ignore the excesses of the organization. The Dragon King of the era openly denounced Vandire and backed the forces that sought to bring him to justice. Once the era ended, the newly reformed Brides of the Emperor, now known as the Sisters of Battle, would prove to work relatively well with the chapter. And as a sign of peace between the Astral Dragons and the new High Ecclesiarch, Sebastion Thor, a small Hospitaller order was allowed to form on Avalon Prime. (Under construction) The War of Dragons Overview The 19th Dragon King of the chapter perished in the year 664.M41. During the selection process for the next Dragon King, a whole third of the chapter's strength suddenly seized upon their brothers and began rebelling against the Imperium. Led by a man now known only as Medraut, they cut a bloody swath through several cities on Avalon and managed to destroy two entire companies and crippled another in a short period of time. The remaining loyalist forces of the chapter were sent into disarray and began retreating in order to buy time to regroup and adequately deal with their traitorous kin. But, Medraut and his forces were relentless and the loyalists were pushed back into the planetary capital of Avalon Prime. It was here that a decisive defeat was thought to be imminent. But, the Lord-Knight of the fifth company, Uther Johansson, and the whole of the fifth company stayed behind and demanded that the rest of the chapter continue falling back. After some meek protests, the rest of the chapter, including then Lord-Knight Arthur, complied and fell back with as many Imperial Guard forces and civilians as they could bring with them. Uther fortified his position and had the fifth company hold its ground, alongside two Imperial Guard regiments, and any remaining PDF troops. Medraut's forces encountered the position and sought to wipe it off of the planet as quickly as possible. However, the dogged resistance of the defenders held off the once seemingly unstoppable tide of traitors. While their destruction was all but inevitable, the fifth company and their allies had managed to hold back the traitors for long enough to allow the remnants of the chapter to regroup and begin to strike back at the traitors. When news of the fifth company's destruction came, the chapter's surviving Astartes regrouped at the Chapter's fortress-monastery. Forgoing the standard ritual associated with such a promotion, Lord-Knight Arthur was officially declared the Dragon King of the chapter, owing to his cunning and bravery during campaigns prior to the rebellion. As befitting of the position, he was given the chapter's three regalias and began leading a counter-attack against his once brother Medraut. The remaining battles were bloody and fierce but, in the end, the forces of the Imperium were triumphant at the hilly plain of Camlann, where Arthur managed to seemingly kill his elder brother in personal conflict. However, as he laid dying, Medraut revealed the dark truth of the chapter's origin to all on the battlefield. Space Marine and guardsmen alike learned that the Astral Dragons were not among the scions of Guilliman, but were instead sons of the Phoenician, of the traitor primarch Fulgrim. The battle quickly concluded, with presumably all of the traitors having been annihilated. However, as the fighting ended, dozens of Imperial void craft, from both the Imperial Navy and Astartes forces, entered the Avalon system. Following several months of intense Inquisitorial interrogation, a tribunal of Space Marine chapters was convened to pass judgement upon the Astral Dragons. Looking at the once stellar record of the chapter and the satisfactory reports from the interrogations of the chapter's leader, it was decided that the chapter, in spite of their heritage, would be allowed to perform a penitent crusade of one hundred years to prove that they were still worthy of being in the Emperor's service. The entire war had lasted approximately one standard year. Penitent Crusade At the onset of their penitent crusade, the Astral Dragons had been reduced to under half strength, three companies had been traitorous and about three companies utterly crushed. The first seventy years of the crusade proceeded with little issue, as the chapter had mostly encountered light xenos or heretical forces during this period of time. However, at the onset of 741.M41, the remaining Magus of the chapter consistently saw visions of destruction whenever they attempted to scry the future and when they consulted the Emperor's Tarot. These scenes of devastation and massacre greatly perturbed the upper echelons of the chapter. For even though they put little faith in attempting to tell the future, consistent predictions on this scale could only mean one thing. It meant that something horrific would soon strike the Imperium. Something that was a greater threat than even the might of the traitor legions. This fear was confirmed five short years later when Hive Fleet Behemoth began its bloody assault upon the worlds of Ultramar. The chapter had only received word of the war after it had concluded in an Imperial victory. Though while relief was felt for the victory, the Dragon King reminded his brothers that it is unlikely that only one such fleet exists. Over the course of the next few hundred years, the chapter would continue to accrue information about the Tyranids in an effort to be able to fight them on equal footing should the day ever come. Return to Avalon In 770.M41, the penitent crusade was considered to have been complete. At long last being allowed to return to their homeworld, the battered remnants of the chapter eagerly boarded their ships and began their return to Avalon. Unfortunately, the chapter would not see rest from their trials just yet. For upon their return, Avalon was under siege by the cruel and demented xenos known to most as the Dark Eldar, or, as they refer to themselves, the Drukhari. The xenos, seeing the Astartes defenders away from the world, had seen an opportunity to raid the planet and scour it of all of that held any value to them. The population itself being their most sought after prize. The remaining Astral Dragons' fleet arrived in system to find the Dark Eldar having their way with the planet, as it was mostly defenseless, barring the chapter's unmanned fortress-monastery. It was no surprise that the sight of the xenos pillaging the planet and massacring the populace drove the remaining Marines into a nigh-unstoppable rage. After taking the Eldar's void fleet by surprise and swiftly annihilating it, drop pods and thunderhawks barreled through the planet's atmosphere, signaling to the Xenos and remaining Imperial forces that the Emperor's angels of death had come. Over the next three months, the Dark Eldar were rooted out and sent running back to their webway gates, never to return to the world. Avalon Prime remained heavily damaged, most of its industrial and civilian centers had bee either destroyed or heavily damaged during the fighting. Aiming to rebuild this world as soon as possible, the chapter's techmarines set to work, helping organize Imperial Guard and civilian personnel to repair and rebuild what had been damaged during the brief conflict. 13th Black Crusade At the onset of the 13th Black Crusade, the Astral Dragons had reached full strength approximately several decades earlier. Upon receiving a distress signal from the Cadian Subsector, Dragon King Arthur chose to dedicated the entire might of the chapter to assist in the defense against the Black Crusade led by Abaddon the Despoiler. While not a part of the initial wave of Astarte reinforcements, the chapter had arrived in the Cadian sector long before the eventual loss of Cadia. Following the wisdom of the Great Wolf Logan Grimnar, they swiftly made their way to the Belis Corona Sector, where they quickly encountered a large force of Emperor's Children marines. The chapter, enraged by the sight of their heretical gene-brothers, fought hard enough against the traitors that they, with the assistance of local Astra Militarum forces, managed to hold an entire tendril of a Black Crusade at a complete standstill for several standard weeks. Searching for Trazyn the Infinite (Under Construction) Notable Campaigns * 014.M31- The Siege of Terra: The Astral Dragons' founder had led approximately fifteen hundred of his brothers in a stubborn defense of one section of the Imperial Palace on Holy Terra. During this period of the siege, while fighting alongside the Imperial Fists legion, they unleashed their full fury upon the traitorous hordes. Upon the sight of the fallen Emperor's Children, however, they nearly broke their discipline out of hatred for their brothers. However, the ever stalwart Imperial Fists and the presence of Rogal Dorn helped inspire the Dragons to remain calm and hold the line. Once the corrupted Astartes broke against the rampart of ceramite, Alexander led his brothers in a charge to run down the retreating fallen. * 503.M31- The Dragon's Dawn Campaign- Often referred to as such due to this being the campaign that ended with the chapter being reinstated as an official Imperial force following several hundred years wandering the Ultima Segmentum as loyalist Blackshields. The majority of this campaign was spent fighting against Ork warbands that had begun to grow too big for comfort. During the latter half of the campaign, the fighting had gained the attention of the Ultramarines and their still-living Primarch, Roboute Guilliman. Once the war had been completed, the chapter was reinstated into the Imperium. * 664.M41- (Under construction) Chapter Organization The chapter is divided into ten companies of one hundred battle brothers each. The first company consists of all of the chapter's veterans and terminator units. In this company, all of the chapter's relic Leviathan and Contemptor-class dreadnoughts continue to fight even after death. Companies two through five are the main battle line companies, sharing the same composition that such companies are expected to have as laid out in the Codex Astartes. The sixth company is the chapter's dedicated heavy support company, consisting entirely of devastator squads, in addition to having control over the chapter's heaviest support vehicles. The seventh and eighth companies are the dedicated assault companies, consisting entirely of jump pack and biker assault units. The ninth company is the dedicated scout company and also maintains many of the chapter's land speeders. The tenth and final company currently consists of the small number of Primaris Marines that the chapter was given at the onset of the Indomitus Crusade. Command Ranks *'Dragon King' - Chapter Master equivalent. *'Dragon Knight' - Force Commander equivalent. *'Knight Lord' - Captain equivalent. *'Chevaliers' - Lieutenants equivalent. *'Magus Draconis '- Chief Librarian equivalent. *'Cleric Draconis '- Master of Sanctity equivalent. Specialist Ranks *'Ensigns' - Ancient equivalent. *'Knight Cleric' - Chaplain equivalent. *'Apothecaries' *'Magus' - Librarian equivalent. Line Ranks *'White Knights' - Sergeant equivalent. *'Knights' - Tactical Marines equivalent. *'Knight-Errants' - Assault equivalent. *'Knights-Arbalist '- Devastator equivalent *'Squires' - Scout Marines equivalent. *'Pages '- Neophyte equivalent. Chapter Tactics The general combat tactics of the chapter can best be described as "rapid dominance". Utilizing their superior technology and biology as Space Marines, the chapter performs swift and precise maneuvers in order to first break apart the enemy lines, then encircle and annihilate them. Because of this preference, they are often most effective in locations that allow their mechanized forces to move quickly, such as open plains or open urban environments. However, the preference for jump packs and land speeders shown by many within the chapter allows them exceptional mobility even within the confines of hive cities or mountain passes. Though, these places still make it difficult for the chapter to adopt its preferred use of swift and decisive strikes made before their foes can react. The chapter often makes use of the Codex Astartes, knowing that the wisdom of the Primarch Roboute Guilliman is more than enough to deal with many of the situations that they would encounter during their battles. However, also recognizing that strict adherence to the Codex would only make them predictable, and thus easily bested, they often times make use of their own specialized tactics, always added to a tactical doctrine referred to as the Codex Draconis. Draca Clifrung The Draca Clifrung ''are among the finest of the Chapter's veteran forces. Often with mix armaments suited to their task, they are often sent in to the most dangerous of battles to eliminate the lynchpins within the enemy's forces, causing them to fall apart and perish before the might of the Chapter's main force. To denote their unique role, they bear suits of ancient power armor that are colored dark blue and white. Chapter Beliefs The chapter can easily be described as chivalrous. They often times go out of their way to ensure that the innocent civilians on any world they are operating on are secured before taking the fight to whatever foe they are fighting at that time. As such, other chapters that share this care for civilians, such as the Salamanders and the Space Wolves under Logan Grimnar, are found admirable by the Astral Dragons, who treat them with great respect. This care for the people of the Imperium stems from several of the chapter's core beliefs. The first is their belief in the idea of being noble in character, as they believe is fitting for Space Marines. The second is the shocking level of humility felt within the chapter, as they feel as though excessive pride had been one of the greatest causes of sin and treachery for humanity. And the third is their belief that the Emperor truly wanted them, as the Adeptus Astartes, to be the defenders of humanity, as he noted in his speech about the Space Marines. These three beliefs combine to form the backbone of how the chapter carries itself. The Astral Dragons act with excessive amounts of honor, often preferring to attack their foes in a way that will allow them to have an opportunity to fight back. This sense of honor also manifests as a tendency to allow them to allow certain foes to run from the battlefield if the chapter winds up respecting their foe, though this courtesy never extends to the forces of Chaos or of the Drukhari. They are rather fanatical about their devotion to the God-Emperor, though, mercifully, not insane zealots like many of those within the ranks of the Ministorum. This manifests with an over-abundance of Knight Clerics within their ranks. Ensuring the purity of their geneseed is of great importance to the chapter. As such, similar to how they maintain greater numbers of Knight Clerics, they maintain a large and especially well-trained Apothecarium. In addition to their skill with treating Space Marines, they are also highly trained in medical procedures pertaining to standard human biology. The topic of Primaris Space Marines is one that the chapter is utterly repulsed by. Even the mere mention of them and their heretical creator is enough to cause the otherwise polite chapter to become incensed and willing to flog the one who mentioned them. Unfortunately, they, among other likeminded chapters, were forced by the Adeptus Custodes to accept a portion of these Astartes into their chapter, though Dragon King Claudius often sends them into the most pointless and brutal of battlefields in an attempt to whittle down their numbers without attracting suspicion. The reason for this hatred is simple. While the Astral Dragons preach for each of their brothers to remain humble, they take great pride in the chapter itself and what it has managed to accomplish despite its traitorous geneseed. To call the geneseed of all Firstborn Astartes wanting is to, in essence, declare the chapter as a whole wanting. Not to mention their hatred of Cawl meddling with one of the Emperor's greatest creations and destroying untold amounts of geneseed. This hatred has had a devastating affect on the few primaris within the chapter. Outsiders would often see the Primaris Marines of the ninth company having a demeanor that could be cheritably described as 'depressed' and less cheritably described as 'suicidal'. Regardless of whatever acheivements they gain or acts of valour performed, the Primaris are often regarded with a cold dismissal at best and outright disdain at worst from the Firstborn Astartes. Notable Members Dragon King Arthur Claudius Arthur, the current Dragon King, is a native of Avalon Prime and is referred as "The Savior of Avalon" by the populace of Avalon Prime. At the age of 193, he was unceremoniously declared the Dragon King during the rebellion of his younger brother, Medraut, in 664.M41. Claudius is regarded as an excellent leader, ever inspiring his brothers to ever greater acts of valor in warfare. During the chapter civil war, he personally slew his brother Medraut and brought an end to the traitors within the chapter. Claudius is often described by his battle-brothers as being an exemplar of the chapter's core beliefs. Honorable and brave, it is common to see him personally leading his brothers from the front and to lead his assault dedicated brothers in a decisive strike against the enemies of Mankind. It is also far from rare to see him battling with the leaders of the enemies of Man and eventually emerging triumphant over them. Cleric Draconis Nicholas Nicholas is the current Cleric Draconis of the chapter. Born in 230.M41, he is, as of 042.M42, the oldest serving battle brother within the chapter, with the exception of those that had been interred within dreadnoughts. Described as stoic and unrelenting in his zeal, Nicholas is also remarkably resilient, even by the already impressive standards of a Space Marines. A powerful orator, he is capable of making even the weakest of men stand tall and attempt to fight for the Emperor of Mankind. Chapter Fleet Relics ''The Regalia This three relics are considered the most sacred in the chapter, as all three have been passed from Dragon King to Dragon King ever since the founding of the chapter. They consist of a masterwork relic blade, an iron halo, and a suit of Mk IV 'Maximus' pattern power armor. *''Caledfwlch'' - A relic blade of fine craftsmanship and with a near flawless balance to it. The weapon is extremely deadly weapon to all the enemies of mankind. The blade, for known reasons, is known to be especially effective against the daemons of the Warp. *''Prydwyn'' - This relic of the Great Crusade is capable of producing a conversion field capable of rendering its bearer almost invulnerable. *''Aegis of Avalon'' - An ancient suit of Mark IV 'Maximus' armour that has provided its bearer greater protection against most attacks. The Banner of Camlann This battle standard shows the death of a traitorous Marine while a faithful Astral Dragon stands triumphant over the fallen heretic. In one hand, the Marine bears a bloodied axe while in the other, he holds an open scroll that reads "Hinder æwfæstnes, wesige hrêð". In the background, a rising sun illuminates the Astarte. This standard was gifted to the chapter, when they returned from their penitent crusade and liberated Avalon Prime, by a minor Sisters Hospitaller order stationed in the Avalon system. Honored by the offering, the chapter proudly displays this banner as the battle standard of the rebuilt Fifth company. ''The Dragon's Claws'' The Dragon's Claw is an ancient set of lightning claws that can be traced back to the era of the Horus Heresy. Resembling the claws of a mighty dragon, these weapons increases the force behind each of its bearer's strikes and is capable of rending even the most powerful of armor. Attached to each claw are master-crafted flamers that spew forth molten promethium upon the enemies of Man. ''Hand of Repentence'' The personal Crozius Arcanum of Cleric Draconis Nicholas. The head of the bears a large relief of a dragon tearing apart a citadel. It is especially large for a Crozius, often requiring Nicholas to wield it with two hands. Though, this allows it to be swung with increased power when compared to a standard Crozius Arcanum. Chapter Appearance Chapter Colours The average Astartes within the chapter retain the same color pattern to their power armor. White as a primary color, dark blue as a secondary color, and any trim or emblems as a gold color. White Knights bear silver helmets and backpacks. Meanwhile, veterans of the chapter bear golden helmets and either blue or silver backpacks. Lastly, officers bear golden helmets and backpacks. Chapter Badge The Astral Dragons Chapter badge is a stylised white colored dragon, it's head facing forward towards the foe, it's wings outspread with one of its wings and tail forming the basis of a circlet. A small six-pointed star hovers above the dragon, representing the Chapter's namesake. Notable Quotes By the Astral Dragons About the Astral Dragons Gallery Category:Imperium Category:Space Marine Chapters Category:Space Marines Category:Ultramarines Successors Category:Third Founding